Card games are widely played by adults, young adults, teenagers, and children. They are an important component of recreational activities, providing amusement for many people. Many games are not only fun and entertaining, but interesting, challenging, stimulating, and educational.
Many games are so fun, challenging, and educational, in fact, that often times many people want to play together in one game. Unfortunately, in games which use standard 52-card decks, the cards are exhausted quickly, either because they are dealt out to the many players, or because the players draw and discard them rapidly. Exhaustion of the cards usually requires a dealer to frequently collect discards and reshuffle them for use in a “new” draw pile. Further, in some games, special rules call for special cards, but a standard 52-card deck has no special cards. Thus, some cards are forced into roles as “wild” cards or other special cards. For instance, a Jack with an Axe may be designated to have special significance in a game, or a Joker may be added to the deck to accommodate the special rules of the game. While the 52-card pack of cards is wonderful for its portability and versatility, in some games, it is not adequate.
Various games with greater numbers of cards or specially designed cards have been developed. Games like Uno® and Skip-Bo® use more than the conventional two through ten numbered cards and face cards to accommodate the special rules of those games. Moreover, those games often have special cards which instruct the players to take a special action, such as “Reverse” or “Draw Four.” These games are exciting and fun as they represent a departure from more traditional card games based on 52-card decks.
Some games test the ability of the players to make matches, rewarding them for making as many matches as possible. In games like Pinochle, Gin, and Rummy, matches, melds, or runs are awarded points based on the cards used to make the match, meld, or run. These games demand intelligence, strategy, and a little bit of luck to be successfully played, and are intriguing to many people. With all the card games that can be played, however, there is always a desire for a new, improved card game.